2018 has been a big year for Alexa, and as we look back we are humbled and inspired by what our Alexa developer community has done to make Alexa smarter, more useful, more fun, and more engaging for customers.

There are many ways Alexa technologies help people find engaging skills. Check out this post for a deeper look at those technologies and how you can leverage them to make your skills more discoverable.

I recently chatted with Oren Jacob, co-founder and CEO of Pullstring, and was delighted to learn that he shares my view on the importance of conversational design. Here are a few points from our chat that have stayed with me.

One of the most common questions we receive from developers is “How can I get my skill featured by Amazon?” Here are a few best practices to help your skill shine and increase the chances of it being featured by Amazon.

Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, says, "Alexa and voice is the future of a frictionless world." Vaynerchuk believes the voice economywill fuel hundred-billion-dollar companies the size of Facebok and Instagram.

In order to enable conversational, freeform voice-first interactions, it's important to present all available options at the top level. Learn how to design your voice user interface in a way that reduces cognitive load on your customers.

Voice is fast-becoming a common user interface, and we find that people embrace voice-first user interfaces because they are natural, conversational, and user-centric. Learn about how you can build your voice-first interaction in a way that enables users to speak to Alexa in their own words.

When you build delightful skills with compelling content, customers win. Now with the announcement of in-skill purchasing, you can sell premium content to enrich your Alexa skill experience. Here are some best practices for designing a premium experience for your customers.